How to make a pinhole camera with your own hands: detailed instructions

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-13 00:26

Creating a pinhole camera is not only a way to save money on purchasing a camera, but also a fun process that will help you become familiar with analog photography.

What is pinhole photography?

Despite the complexity of modern cameras, a camera has only two essential elements: a light-tight housing with a means of controlled light transmission and a light-sensitive medium.

The main difference between a pinhole camera and conventional cameras is the use of a tiny hole instead of a lens.

Back in the 10th century, the Arab mathematician and scientist Alhazen discovered that light, passing through a tiny hole in the wall of a dark room, is projected onto the opposite surface. Before the advent of light-sensitive media, this optical effect was used by artists. Projection of the image onto a wall opposite to the light source made it possible to quickly and easily reproduce pictures with photographic accuracy.

The simplest devices for transmitting images to the opposite surface are pinhole cameras. They helped not only artists, but also astronomers. The first documented use of this optical effect during solar eclipse observation dates back to 1544.

A pinhole camera uses the optical effect of a pinhole camera. A hole is made in the front of the camera body, through which the image is projected onto the film.

What do you need to make a camera with your own hands?

• A large piece of foam board 5 mm thick. It can be found in art stores and baguette shops.
• A piece of thin metal 2 × 2 cm (can be cut from a tin can).
• Three rolls of 35 mm film (can be pulled out from overexposed and expired films).
• Cylindrical ballpoint pen.
• Black acrylic paint.
• Universal glue for creativity.
• A sharp knife for cutting foam board.
• Ruler.
• Fine needle. Better to take an airbrush or intradermal needle. The diameter of the resulting hole should not be more than 0.4 mm.
• Fine-grained sandpaper.
• Lantern.

How to make a pinhole camera?

Assemble the outer shell

The camera body will consist of two parts: an outer shell and a side with a hole. Start by assembling the outer shell. Cut out the necessary elements from the foam board: back surface, top, bottom, two sides and a slot for the rewind head.

Fix the cut pieces with glue. The outer shell is ready.

Assemble the rewind head

To do this, you need to connect the tube of the ballpoint pen to the part of the film reel. Remember that the rewind knob should not be glued. It is only fixed when the outer shell and the side with the hole are connected.

Assemble the side with the hole

Cut out the front with a center hole, the top with two holes, the bottom, two sides, two spacers, a take-up spool spacer and two film blockers.

Connect all the parts obtained with glue. The hole side is ready.

Install the take-up spool

Glue the two film spools together by passing one through the hole in the top of the case on the right side. Please note that the connecting parts of the spools must be ground so that the gap between the discs is 11 mm. Do not overdo it with glue, the coil should rotate.

Make a hole in a piece of metal

Use an airbrush or intradermal needle to do this. If there are only sewing needles, choose the thinnest one and punch a hole with its tip. Place something under the metal and use a hammer to punch a hole. Many people advise another way: place the needle in a pencil eraser and screw it into the metal.

Sand the edges of the hole with sandpaper. Glue the resulting plate to the front of the camera from the inside between the spacers. The hole in the foam board must be completely covered with metal.

Make and install the shutter

Cut out two curved spacers, a ring, and a latch from the foam board. The valve and gaskets can be cut from a circle that is the same size as the ring.

Glue the gaskets and the ring to the body. When the glue is dry, try inserting the seal. If it goes too tight, sand the edges with sandpaper.

Finish the pinhole camera

Go to a dark room and check with a flashlight for any cracks left through which light can pass. Use black paint to fill in the gaps.

Film is a rather sensitive medium, which is easily scratched even in serious cameras. If you want to avoid defects in the frame, then glue strips of soft cloth on the parts of the camera that come into contact with the film.

Now, pull out your reel of film and get ready to shoot with your first pinhole.

How do I load the film?

To load the film, place the pinhole with the hole down, with the bottom towards you. Insert the film so that the protruding part of the spool is between the spacers and the flat side of the cassette is on top. Pull the film over to the take-up spool and secure with tape. Remember to use the tape when you rewind the tape back into the cassette.

Check if everything works by running the take-up spool a couple of turns. The rewind head must rotate in this case. Connect the bezel to the outer shell of the camera. Pinhole is ready to shoot.

How to rewind the tape?

The pinhole is devoid of a frame counter and a fixer, which allows you to rewind a frame based on its size. You will have to calculate the limit of the remaining images manually, and rewind by eye. Frame rewind is approximately equal to one and a half revolutions of the take-up spool. For convenience, you can put a mark on it.

How to determine exposure?

Anyone who is familiar with photography knows that the size of the aperture opening directly affects the exposure time of the shot. The smaller the hole, the longer the shutter speed. When dealing with pinhole, you should prepare for a long wait: the exposure time will be much longer than usual. Also, the exposure time is affected by the film's photosensitivity.

Be prepared for the first film to go to measure the ideal exposure time. You will need a light meter (you can use a light meter built into another camera or an app on your smartphone), film (ISO 200 or ISO 100), a visual landscape to experiment with, and patience.

You can install one of these applications:

• PinholeMeter. A light meter designed to work with a pinhole. Select the film sensitivity and aperture value and point the camera at what you want to photograph. The application will calculate the amount of time it takes to create a high-quality picture.
• LightMeter. Simple and convenient exposure meter. The exposure value for pinhole will not count, but it will help to draw analogies.

If you followed the instructions and you managed to comply with all dimensions (the distance from the front wall to the film and the diameter of the hole itself), then the aperture value of your pinhole camera will be f / 75 – f / 80. Knowing this, you can use the pinhole calculator to calculate the exposure time. Use the light meter and the table obtained on the website to find matches.

If the calculated exposure time turned out to be incorrect, then recheck all the initial data and recalculate the aperture value. Aperture value (F_stop) is the Focal Length divided by the Pinhole Diameter. The unit of measurement for all values is millimeters.

How to get clear footage?

The exposure time in minutes assumes that the camera will have to be placed on a hard surface or attached to a tripod. Remember that camera shake when you open the shutter will blur your shot. Therefore, cover the hole with your hand until the camera is secured to the selected surface.